MYRTLE CREEK, Ore. – Several people were injured in a multi-vehicle crash involving five passenger vehicles and two semi-trucks pulling trailers on Interstate 5 north of Myrtle Creek Tuesday afternoon, police reported.

The driver of a semi-truck was cited for careless driving in connection with the 7-vehicle pileup on an Oregon freeway -

Witnesses said a semi-truck and trailer traveling south on I-5 near milepost 112 didn’t slow down as it approached backed-up traffic shortly after 4 p.m., March 18, and hit several other vehicles. The traffic was slowed on the deck of a bridge spanning the South Umpqua River because of a single-lane construction zone about one mile ahead, Oregon State Police (OSP) said.

The truck driver, 37-year old Alejandro Ramirez Meca of Delano, California, was cited for careless driving and was transported to a local hospital for treatment of what troopers described as non-life threatening.

Troopers said several other people were taken to local medical facilities, but no serious injuries were reported.

The freeway was closed for about four hours, and traffic was re-routed via Winston and Myrtle Creek, OSP said.